Completely Enough
by Beware of the Fluffy Ones
Summary: After all, Asgardians can have kids too, and a father's love transcends all boundaries.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Thor

Completely Enough

Summary: After all, Asgardians can have kids too, and a father's love transcends all boundaries.

It was sometime during mid-morning that Loki decided he should have never become a writer. While the alias worked perfectly well for keeping the occasional Human- That- Thinks- They- Know- A- Lot- And- So- Suspects- Loki- Might- Not- Be- All- That- He- Seems, it fell short in one area. The alias insured that he was a stay at home dad.

This wasn't such a bad thing in the beginning of the marriage. Lovely Darcy took care of the Screaming Baby and he shut the door to his study to write. When Screaming Baby turned into Child Number One and Silent Baby followed in his wake, Loki decided he had a "situation" on his hands. This was the only problem with being attracted to his lovely wife: nine months later a little half- breed came into the world.

Some of these thoughts filtered through Loki's mind as he stared somewhat despondently at the paint covered Child Number One.

"… what happened?" Loki wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

The six year old boy version of Darcy grinned at him.

"I found paint in Hamilton's shed," Loki made a mental note to fire the gardener.

"…and?"

"I painted! Like Mummy showed me!" Loki made a mental note to implore Lovely Darcy to never again encourage the children's creativity. Why had she been so against selling them off as slave labor anyways? Surely such things weren't that unheard of in this day and age.

"Daddy! It's pretty! Would you come see? I painted the whole side of the cottage!" Oh good Oden.

Loki stood up from the chair at his desk and picked up his child. "Let's go see, hm? Mummy is still in America—perhaps we should keep the painting till when she comes back?"

Child Number One beamed as Loki set him standing on his desk and turned to face wall. Loki looked into the Playpen where Child Number Two was currently been held prisoner (after she decided she was tall enough to reach the knife drawer) to see if she was still awake. Loki's son clambered onto his father's back in a much practiced movement. Loki paused to adjust his son's arms from strangling him and walked over to his daughter's playpen. She lifted her arms as he bent to pick her up and carried the two children out side.

Child Number One really hadn't been joking when he said he painted the house. Loki looked at the blue rainbows and red finger paintings of— was that Sleipnir? He knew that kid's book of Norse Mythology had been a bad idea. Loki stood slightly baffled as to what he should do next.

_A bath_, he decided as he stared at a painting of a wolf chasing the moon. _Definitely a bath._

As Loki helped Child Number One into the tub and plopped Child Number Two in for good measure, he heard a knock on the door.

Choosing to ignore the sound, Loki continued to pour water over his youngest head, washing out the baby shampoo in her hair. The little girl looked at her father with an expression akin to hero worship on her face before she had to close her eyes as the water ran over her face. The little boy in the bathtub was making fascinating noises as he played with toy tug boat. He wasn't concerning himself at all with washing the paint off his body.

"Daddy?" the boy's voice pulled Loki out of his reverie on Asgardian Boar Eating Rituals. Those festival pranks had always been so amusing.

"Yes, son?"

"Are you going to answer the door?" Ah, the knocking hadn't stopped.

"Should I?" He asked, making his son's brow crinkle. He took his kids out of the tub and helped the youngest dry off and get dressed while keeping an eye on his son.

"Mummy always does." Ah yes, Darcy was such a good influence on people.

"I'm not Mum," Loki replied. He wondered when he first started having ethical debates about doors with six year olds. Probably around the time his son first turned six.

"Then why don't you just change the person? Into a bird or something? Then they can fly away." His son was staring at him with round eyes. His daughter laughed a little as Loki's eyes mirrored his son's.

"You saw that?"

Child Number One nodded.

Loki cringed a little recalling a rather unpleasant encounter with the milkman last month. Darcy had kicked him to the couch for a week after that, never mind that Loki explained he was just trying to help. The man had such a sour expression anyways; Loki was just trying to give him a body fitting of his face! Too bad Lovely Darcy knew him to well. He might have been able to pull that one off when they were dating, but years of married life had taught her otherwise.

"It's not… um… _nice_ to change people into… things that aren't people." He said lamely. He never pretended to be good with kids. Foals were so much easier.

Loki helped the kids down the stairs and opened the door, hoping to stop the incessant knocking.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor do I wish to.

Loki opened the door to a slightly sickly looking woman in a green tweet suit skirt. Although the petite human was so much shorter than his Asgardian height, Loki found it amazing that she could look down her bespectacled nose at him. Amazing in an annoying sort of way.

Loki looked at her expectantly as the green woman took his wet state in. He shifted his daughter from one arm to another as he decided prying his son off of his leg wouldn't prove productive.

"Is there a problem with having soap bubbles on ones shirt?" He asked, looking at the woman.

"Of course not, Loki—" she raised her eyebrows at this, as if to say she knew he would be a failure of a dad simply by his odd choice of names. "Odenson. I'm here to discuss Sven's classroom behavior." She looked at the child anchored to Loki's leg. "Sven. Your… son." She added for clarification. Loki internally scoffed. As if he didn't know Child Number One's name. He briefly contemplated turning the woman into a frog. She would look good as a frog.

"You are going to let me in." It was a statement. Loki really didn't like it when humans gave him statements. He could already feel the magic being drawn from his heart, down the arm that wasn't holding his daughter, and pooling in the palm of his hand. One human into a frog. Nobody would miss her.

"Loki. I'm afraid your child is very incompetent. He—" _pop_!

He smirked as the yellow sparks faded from his fingertips.

"Take the frog out to the pond, son. I'll make some sandwiches for lunch." He bent down to look Sven in the eye, making his daughter giggle a little. "And no telling Mummy, eh? What she doesn't know can't hurt her." Sven grinned and bounded off with the frog.

"Come on Ducky," Loki said to his daughter, "Let go make lunch."

Later on in life, Loki would determine it was turning the women into the frog that started all the trouble. How could he have known she was a sprite? He dimly noted during the transformation that it took less magic than he thought it would, but he hadn't deemed it truly important. Magical creatures took less magic to change, as it was already a part of their blood. Later he would also think back to how the woman—or sprite—hadn't given him her name, nor stepped over the threshold uninvited. Classical signs of Midgardian creatures with magic. If only he had noticed.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, but I would like to own Loki… Even Dad!Loki. I think he's sweeter than he lets on.

Loki was busy brushing the crumbs off his daughters face when the phone rang. He made sure the two kids where well situated before he walked into the kitchen to pick up the phone.

"The Odenson's house" Loki fervently hoped it wasn't his editor. Spells got a little wonky when they traveled over phone lines and he figured he had already done enough mischief for one day. Wait. Since when was one transformation enough mischief? Since when was one transformation _any_ mischief? Ahh, the things he had done back in Asgard…

"Loki?" Lovely Darcy's voice traveled over the phone. Loki immediately perked up. "How are the children?" Loki deflated a little.

"Fine, Dearest. How is New Mexico?"

She chatted for a few moments about her work in America, pausing to remind Loki that he had another children's book due to his editor in a few days. (He was doing a fairly good job at avoiding that fact.)

"May I talk to the children?" She continued "Little Sarai is so good to go without her mother for so long!"

"Ah yes, the children are right—" Loki glanced back at the empty table, "…Here?" He turned to fully examine the table. Crumbs of the floor. Untouched cookies. Empty chairs. Open window.

"Dear Heart, I must have told them they could play by the pond. I should go out and watch them. Good bye, Love" Loki quickly hung up the phone and stalked outside.

Loki cursed to himself as he saw the giant footprints of a sphinx outside his house. Two sets of prints— one coming and one going— started and stopped in the same place behind the cottage.

They took his kids? Oh, someone was going to pay for this.

….

A/N- I think it's a little funny that, for all Loki's magic, he is using the phone to talk to Darcy.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, but I wouldn't mind owning a pocket- sized Heimdall.

Staring at the sphinx's prints Loki called some of his magic from his heart and down his right hand. The yellow sparks paused for a moment in the air before shooting over the giant paw prints and crackling right where the indentures ended. Loki tried not to run as he made his way over to where the magic had died. Testing the air again Loki found he was right. A portal had recently been closed in this area—a very strong portal. Loki kicked at a clod of earth while he assessed his options.

_Asgard, _he thought _Asgard would be best._

"Heimdall, open the gate." Loki commanded.

The black haired man tightened his muscles as he prepared for space travel. He had always hated making a rift in the space grid. The stretching and shrinking his body endured as the rainbow bride sucked him up was disorienting even on the best of days. His hatred for the efficient travel didn't end with the physical effects; he also hated it for the tricks it played on his mind. Being adept in magic meant he knew what the recreated bridge was doing when it opened to travelers. He also knew what would happen to the universe if something went wrong.

Struggling to stay upright Loki opened his eyes when he felt Heimdall's magic dissipate. Loki swallowed and walked out of the observatory without as much as a nod to Heimdall. They had never liked each other. Years of distance couldn't change that.

"Loki," Heimdall called out as the green eyed man stalked off, "It has been many years, even by Asgardian time. Your father is most displeased that you have forgotten him. They were his grandchildren too."

_Were? Were?_ Loki clenched a fist as he pretended not to hear.

..…

Loki knew exactly where the potion he needed was. The plan was to steal into his study, grab the fluid, and make it back to his cottage all before a druid could blink.

Of course, it hadn't been in the plan to have his kids kidnapped. And now that he thought about it, druids tended to blink very, very slowly.

If Loki had been to Asgard a little more often in the last few years he would have known about the schedule change. From what Loki remembered, his mother would be tending the garden right about now, and his father should have been in private meetings. What Loki didn't count on was a change. Things had never changed in Asgard before, why should they now?

As the man made his way to the throne room he blocked out all other things like odd noise's and strange light patterns and concentrated solely on speed. Speed is what was going to get his kids back, and the fastest way to his study on the third floor was through a staircase hidden behind the red curtain by Oden's throne.

To this day Loki regrets not knowing Oden had moved Public Complaint Hour to the afternoon. To this day, Loki hates Heimdall for not telling him. To this day, Loki wishes he had just been a bit faster.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, but I wouldn't mind Oden living in the back shed.

Loki grabbed the door handle to the throne room and stepped in, taking several confidant strides before realizing he wasn't alone. The room was bright and packed with people. People whose eyes where all staring in the same direction. People whose eyes where all staring at him. Loki tried no to gag as he worked on standing a few inches taller and looked at his father sitting on the throne.

"Is the silver tonged Loki without a few words to say?" Oden called out to his second son.

"Hardly, father. I am merely in search of good company to share them with. If you will excuse me?" It wasn't a question. Loki turned to leave.

"Stop." Oden commanded, rising while leaning on his golden spear "You have been gone for too long to simply vanish again. A feast!" Oden smiled as the crowd began cheering "To honor the return of my second son!"

Loki ground his teeth as his mind went through possible ways avert a feast happening. Finally he decided on the truth. He hoped they would be too shocked to say anything, and he could make his escape.

"My children have been kidnapped." Loki stated voice dangerously low "Saving time is necessary in order to rescue them." Loki drew some magic from his heart and down his right hand. Yellow sparks flashed as he used teleportation to take him immediately to his old study.

Back in the throne room every one stood in stunned silence.

Oden blinked a few times before deciding on the best was to help Loki.

"Would somebody tell Thor his brother has returned?"

….

Loki had trashed his old work room by the time Thor arrived. The nausea of teleporting twice in one day was working its way through his stomach, while the knowledge he was wasting precious seconds ate away at his brain. He _knew_ where that vial was supposed to be. He had been seeing it in his mind's eye ever since he first recognized the sphinx's prints. It just… wasn't there. Now he was overturning every item in his old room, looking for the glass bottle filled with the brown, watery liquid.

And then he saw it.

Hidden behind one of his many bookcases.

Smashed.

Loki almost cried in that moment. As he stood staring at the dried remains of what would take him to his children he just about crumpled in a ball and wept.

Instead he clenched his fists and silently vowed vengeance on whoever had put him through his personal hell.

Thor came in at that moment. The blond man took in the sight of Loki and the broken room, then crossed the short distance to put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"What can I do?" Thor said as he looked his brother in the eyes.

"…I have another plan." Loki finally said.

…..

"The potion I was looking for came from the roots of Yggdrasil," Loki explained as the two brothers hurried down the back alleys of Asgard, "Because the tree Yggdrasil spans the universe, liquid from its roots make good fodder for traveling potions. The vial that I had—the one that looked like it had been smashed a few days ago—contained distilled root juice. It holds many properties, one of which is the ability to open portals _from the wrong side_. It's the only potion of its kind. And the very potion I happen to need."

Thor nodded and made sounds of agreement in the back of his throat. The blond man hardly understood what Loki was saying, but it was one of the reasons he loved Loki so deeply—the dark haired man never considered Thor dumb. He always talked to him as if Thor was on the same level of intelligence as himself. Thor may not understand the finer aspects that go into honing a good insult, but he knew when the court talked at him as if he were stupid.

"But where are we going, brother?" Thor asked, trying to gain a better grasp on the situation. Would people need to be smashed? His hand itched to hold Mjölnir.

"We are going to see an old crone I know," Loki said as they turned down an even dirtier ally, and stopped at a dark wooden door "She has encyclopedic knowledge about different magical places in the universe. She was the one who first told me how to get the potion. I'm sure she has more hidden somewhere."

Thor grasped the handle of his hammer, getting it ready in case the old woman proved troublesome.

They were going to get those kids back, if it was the last thing the two brothers did.

…..

Review? Sorry it's gotten so solemn. This thing called "plot" took over. ;) And I'm thinking I'll be updating on a MWF schedule. That cool with everyone?


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, but I do own The Crone. Anybody want her?

As Loki raised his hand to knock on the dark wood door, he wondered if, perhaps, he was just caught in a very, very bad dream. Maybe he would wake up to see Sven's grin and hear little Rai-rai's squeals of laughter as Darcy baked cookies.

Ah. Lovely Darcy was horrid at baking.

Perhaps this was reality after all?

Loki was jerked from his brief daydream as the heavy door in front of him creaked open. He felt Thor stiffen behind him and unconsciously lowered his center of gravity himself.

He needn't have bothered.

The woman—if she can be called that—who opened the door wasn't Asgardian. Nor was she human. She was, perhaps, some odd mixture of Midgardian and Dwarf, with a lot of Very Old and Very Ugly thrown in. Loki had come to her abode only once before: when he was a teen and in search of bigger and brighter potions. He now realized that his memories had been overly kind to The Thing standing in front of him. He had somehow blocked out the grey tint of her skin, the stenches that wafted from the room behind her, and the strange green thing that seemed to be clinging to the bottom of her chin. Loki suppressed a shudder. Thor had stopped looking about two paragraphs ago.

"…Come in?" At least her voice wasn't… that bad. More like a horse whisper than anything else.

"Of course." Loki faked a smile as he stepped over the threshold, casting a glance back at Thor. Apparently his brother found the muddy foundation in the ally extraordinarily interesting. The blond man looked up for a brief moment, caught his brother's eye, and sheepishly followed him inside.

"What… brings… you here… son of-"

"The Yggdrasil potion," Loki cut her off before she could remind him once again of where he didn't belong, "I'm willing to give anything." Loki cast a slightly worried glance at his brother. Did he suspect anything? No, the blond man had taken to holding his breath as he tried to make out furniture in the dank room. Thor's face was starting to turn slightly red.

"…anything?" The crone's shadowed eyes turned to Asgard's Golden Boy.

"I believe that's what I said." Loki's snark had just about left the building. He wondered if what he was about to do would fall under the category of "forgivable." He was sort of thinking not.

Thor continued to stare at the corners of the black room, oblivious as to what was going on around him.

…

A/N: Review to see what happens? Lol, no, it's not that bad—Loki's not half as dark as he seems ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Thor. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't own a whole lot.

"…His eye." The crone smiled gleefully, "Thunder boy's eye… in return for… the potion."

That got Thor's attention. He turned to look at Loki and the old woman. Loki was standing there, looking slightly irate, and the crone had turned to search the back rooms of the musty room.

"Absolutely not." Loki said. This made Thor feel reasonably relieved. He rather liked where his eyes were currently placed.

The woman's rustling stopped as she limped towards Loki—this time holding a small vial.

"My, my…so by 'anything'…you meant…?"

"Anything that can grow back. Obviously. Play by the rules, Echidna." Loki shifted his weight from one foot to another, trying to calm his nerves as he did so. He still felt as if each second ticked painfully by.

"…Fine." The woman mumbled. She handed Loki the bottle of brown swill and started walking towards Thor, drawing a rather menacing-looking pair of scissors from the folds of her clothes as she did so. Thor, slightly panicked, looked at Loki to see if all was going by the green-eyed man's design. Loki looked stressed, but, as he wasn't doing anything to stop the woman, Thor figured all was going according to plan. Thor closed his eyes and hoped that whatever they had silently agreed on wouldn't hurt his personal being too much. If only those kids knew what their uncle had to go through.

After a few seconds of Nothing Happening, Thor decided to open his eyes.

The crone was smirking at a lock of Thor's bright blond hair.

That was it? Thor felt like laughing.

Loki swept out of the room, clutching the potion. Thor decided to save the laughing for later and follow his trusted brother.

…

"What did she want last time?" Thor would ask, later, after this whole mess was over with.

"You do not truly wish to know." Loki would respond, eyes taking a sudden interest in the white tiles of the Asgardian palace.

After Loki told him, Thor realized his brother was right. He really didn't want to know.

…..

Ah, sorry for the anticlimax? I actually got several reviews from people saying that they were worried. I really love anticlimaxes, though, so be expecting more before the end.

And points if you know where the name 'Echidna' comes from. ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Thor, but *insert mildly witty comment*

As the brothers raced down the streets of Asgard, Loki's mind had already turned to when he would see his children again. At this point Loki was ready to cuddle his children and never let them go again. School be damned—they could watch National Geographic and live off of popcorn. Surely there wasn't anything that needed to be learned that they couldn't get through cable.

Ah, but what about Darcy? He hadn't forgotten about her. He just needed to get that part of the plan in action.

When the boys crossed the bridge—almost at Heimdall's Observatory—Loki clasped Thor on the shoulder.

"This is where we part," Loki said. "But I do have a plan for you."

Thor nodded.

…

When Loki felt the pull of space travel for the third time in one Midgardian afternoon, he began to question his choices in life. Maybe he shouldn't have tried to rule in Oden's stead? Maybe he shouldn't have banished Thor? Maybe he shouldn't have taken Lovely Darcy on that date? Ah… Lovely Darcy. Nope. That settles it. His choices in life were just fine.

Loki fell to his hands and knees as the vortex dropped his body on Earth. He concentrated—for just a few moments—on keeping the contents of his stomach where they belonged. As his eyes opened and began to wander the earth where he was deposited, he noticed the sphinx's prints. Right. His anger slightly reenergized him and he stood up.

Loki walked the few steps to where the prints ended, and opened up the vial.

He dumped the contents through the air where the portal should have opened.

Nothing happened.

He clenched his fist.

Loki stared at the dirt for a while.

Still, nothing happened.

He began to wonder where he went wrong. Perhaps it had been talking to Oden in the throne room? That was the first point where his plans started to go awry. Then the smashed vial. Seeing Thor. The crone.

Loki continued to stare at the dirt—and no, those weren't tears in his eyes because they were only _his kids _and he and Darcy could have new ones and it wasn't like he was attached to the half breed Midgardians anyways. But who was he kidding? He couldn't give up now.

Loki continued to stare at the dirt, now with light blue beams showing through, and tried to devise another way to get his kids back. He could go to the well of Mirmir. Give up an eye for the sake of knowledge—

Wait. Blue light?

Slightly startled, Loki pulled himself from his thoughts to stare at the now very bright blue dirt.

Loki smirked. It had worked.

Without a second thought, Loki stepped in the portal.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Thor. I have, however, just realized that I own all the bad guys in this story. I wonder what that says about my moral health.

As Loki sped through the vortex he could feel the kinks in the magic. The tunnel wasn't going to hold up much longer—in fact, it felt like it was caving in behind him. Loki began to call sparks from his heart to cushion his exit from the tunnel, when the portal unexpectedly broke off.

But, while the vortex was gone, Loki kept going.

Loki slammed into a solid stone wall, with all the force of the magic tunnel propelling him, and crumpled to the ground. He lay there in a slightly dazed heap before noticing the involuntary sparks of magic float over his body.

It was light green magic. Healing magic.

Startled, Loki quickly sat up to assess the damage, but then let out a hiss of pain when he felt a sharp twang in his arm. His arm—left arm—was broken. That was very bad. A few ribs on the left side were also broken, along with his left ankle being out of its socket. That wasn't as disastrous. He snapped is foot back into place, and sent some sparks to help with the swelling. The instinctive magic had already started healing his ribs so all that remained was his left arm.

Loki clenched his teeth while setting the bones back into place. The magic crinkled over his skin before seeping in where the bone was broken. Loki hoped it was good enough.

He then stood and began to survey his surroundings.

Stone sat upon gigantic grey stone. Loki worked on not feeling claustrophobic as he saw the small stairwell he had landed in. He barely noted the stone steps running both up and down as he closed his eyes to run a thermal scan, using more magic.

The thermal scan showed five human like beings in the compound. Two small bodies, those would be his children, two adult men and one woman. They were all high above him. There were also some heat signatures coming from far below him, but Loki took no notice. He bounded up the steps to his children.

He finally came to the room that held his daughter. Loki yanked the door open and walked in.

Little Sarai squealed when she saw her father. Her arms immediately went up as she silently begged to be held by her dad. Loki crossed the room to scoop up his daughter, cuddling her as soon as he reached her.

"Is little Rai-rai alright?" he asked, quelling whatever emotion was threatening to break through "Are you alright?"

"Daddy!" she smiled through red eyes—Loki noticed she must have been crying before he entered the room "Daddy!" she then pointed to some dark corner of the room "Hag-gar!"

Loki followed his daughter's digit, taking in the rooms surroundings for the first time. The stone floor was covered with a thick red rug, one Sarai-sized bed huddled in the corner while a larger bed stood against the wall. A chest overflowing with all kinds of ugly toys was the only other furnishing in the room.

But Sarai wasn't pointing at any of these things; instead, she was pointing to a woman standing demurely in the corner. When Loki had first taken the heat signatures he thought the woman had been human. As he looked at her now he noted his mistake. She was an elf—much like the elves that Tolkien fellow had met before he wrote his books. She was looking worriedly at the floor with her hands clasped in front of her.

"You are Hagar, I suppose?" Loki questioned as Sarai placed her head on his shoulder.

"Yes sir," She replied, still looking at the floor.

"Would you like to enlighten me as to why, exactly, my children have been taken?" Loki didn't mean to bite out the words (okay, ya, he did) as he took a few menacing steps forward. Hell hath no fury like a worried father.

"Sir…" This time Hagar looked at him, her eyes wide and scared "Please take them! As far away as you can! The master has such plans—"

Loki felt a sharp pain hit his neck as the two females simultaneously shrieked. He fell to the ground, dimly thankful that someone took Sarai out of his arms, as his world turned black.

Someone had knocked the god of mischief out and, even from the depths of an enchantment, Loki vowed they would pay.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Thor…

Loki felt the harsh metal bonds clasping his wrists before he lost consciousness again.

That's when the dreams kicked in. Memories, really. Dreams of a past life: being in Asgard as a child, racing Thor, playing tricks on Heimdall, listening to his father's voice as he talked in court, his mother's voice as she sang songs in their sleep. He went in and out of the memories—first Asgard, then Midgard, then visiting Asgard again—before his mind finally settled on a single memory. Darcy.

Specifically, meeting Darcy for the first time.

Her giant, beautiful eyes had stared at him… and then promptly looked away, as if he had been nothing more than a marginally interesting bit of wallpaper sticking out from the wall. That hadn't bothered him, he was sure, somewhere deep down she was as infatuated with him as he was with her. She was just playing hard to get.

He continued to watch her as she visited Jane. He waited, patiently, as she gently flirted with Fandral and got used to the Asgardian court. Him, being the sly old fox that he was, waited until she was lulled into a sense of security before he made his move. He asked her to dine with him.

She said no. She didn't date men who previously tried to kill her. It was bad for the relationship.

Crushed, but unwilling to be deterred, he helped himself to a mug of mead and decided an actual plan was in order.

-At this point in the dream he woke up a little, moving in the dirty room he had been chained in and trying to draw himself out of the unconsciousness that gripped him. His left arm ached and he fell back into memories.

He remembered following her then, after she went back to Midgard. Heimdall had a small smile on his face as Loki told him where he was going. The ebony man had seen many an Asgardian act more foolishly for love. It amused him that Loki had it in his black heart to act so lovesick.

Loki didn't mind the trip, though the space travel made his stomach churn. He remembered the feeling of turning himself into a black cat and trotting up the stairs to Darcys apartment. Shape shifting was always easy, and made all the more pleasant by the fact Darcy would now willingly scratch him behind the ears.

…not that he had liked that sort of thing in human form, but still.

He finally had a plan, now that he had been reminded of the foolishness of operating without one. Love made one do strange things.

He would observe her for a year or so. When next he saw her Loki would know just what she liked and loathed, so he could easily charm her down to her toes. It had worked, more or less.

-He shifted a little in his sleep, a little more awake now, the bone in his arm still reminding him that he had broken it. It was probably the throb he still felt that prompted his next dream.

He had gone on a walk with Lovely Darcy. They had known each other for long enough that she was comfortable with him, but still short enough that he had the boyish urge to impress her.

She was visiting Asgard again—to see him, this time, not Jane—and they had wandered to one of the creeks outside the giant white walls. She had asked him about his magic, and he had been more than happy to oblige.

"Magic comes from the heart," he had said, using his hand to tap the place where his own, recently softened, heart resided. "It doesn't come from one's head, as they teach in class. While magic is limited by your imagination, it still stems from the heart." Darcy had nodded here, acting as if this had all made sense. She wasn't going to remind him that she had calculus instead of Magic 101. Not when he was being this frank.

Still, when he looked at her he saw the bit of her mind that couldn't comprehend, so he held up his hand—his right hand—to demonstrate.

"I'll use a certain amount of magic to blast that scraggily River Oak," He said, nodding to a tree on the creek bank. "But I'll use my right hand. The magic has to travel longer when it's called to the right hand; hence it tends to be weaker."

Some yellow sparks danced around his fingertips as Darcy watched, and a moment later several branches exploded and fell into the water. Loki smirked a little. He knew she wasn't much one for manly displays, but, when it was just the two of them, he couldn't help himself.

"Now, same amount of magic, but with the left hand."

The tree happily exploded. Or at least it seemed happy to Loki. Or, at any rate, Loki was happy about the explosion. Most likely the latter. There was just something about changing topography that was satisfying.

"Very nice," Darcy had said, the twinkle that Loki loved coming into her eye "But how do I know you didn't cheat, and use more magic for your left hand?"

Loki had laughed at that, wrapping his arms around Darcy as an excuse to step closer.

-Loki fully woke up. As the tendrils of the enchantment that had kept him asleep slithered off, he realized what he needed.

A plan.

Loki wouldn't be caught unconscious twice. Before the day was out, this guy was going to meet his maker.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Thor, but I do have a nice sphinx carpet for sale.

Loki had a plan (a good plan) for how to get his kids back. As he blinked some more life into his dim green eyes, he began to call some magic to put his Very Good Plan into action. Yet, when he heard some chains in the room clink, he quieted the flickers of light. Those hadn't been his chains.

He then heard breathing, and decided he might have to revise his Very Good Plan.

…..

When Sven had first seen the sphinx's black eyes peeping from over the window sill, he had grinned at the woman's face, thinking it was funny that such a creature had made it to the cottage unnoticed. As the woman's paws and face disappeared, only to reappear moments later squeezing through the large never-used doggie door, Sven continued to grin, thinking that perhaps his father might let him keep the beast. While the animal gently bit him, applying paralyzing saliva and placing him on its back, Sven started to wonder if perhaps he could play some sort of game with the female. When the creature did the same to Sarai, Sven realized they might have a situation on their hands.

He didn't mind playing such dangerous games, but heaven help you if you brought dear Rai-rai into them.

Cradling what little magic he had picked up from watching his father, Sven kindly asked the Midgardian dirt to remain in the shapes that the small sphinx's giant paws had molded it.

He would have grinned then, if his face hadn't been paralyzed. His father would come for them.

….

If Darcy thought it was odd when her doting husband hung up the phone so swiftly on her, she didn't let on.

At least, not to the government workers around her.

She was currently back in America trying to explain the mysterious disappearance of Jane Foster, and quite happily pointing the S.H.I.E.L.D. in all the wrong directions. After Loki had made some semblance of peace with the avengers and dropped off the map, the whole team had subsequently disbanded. Thor and Jane disappeared, and Darcy moved out of the U.S. That was that. Unfortunately, several government idiots hadn't wanted to cut off all ties with Asgardian technology, and so were in the midst of trying to regain contact with Thor. To do that, they needed to find Jane. To find Jane, they needed Darcy's help.

But Darcy wasn't about to let her old mentor be found. And so she was here, away from her family, raking in money she didn't need, and pointing people in the wrong direction.

All for the sake of Jane, who could finally get some peace with Thor.

Darcy sighed a little, and re-counted the days until she could go home.

….

"Who is there?" Loki asked the darkness, wondering if he should stun the creature with some simple fire magic, or let it think he was as weak as them.

"Me thinkssss he talksss to yous, Asssenath." A dim fire flared up from closer to the ceiling than the floor as the small voice made Loki's spine tingle. More than one beast? He could work this to his advantage.

"I… I don't know… What should I say?" A tentative female voice floated through over the stone walls. Loki also heard chains slither across the floor as whatever spoke paced back and forth.

"Says Hellosss," The dry voice answered. Loki shifted a little, wondering if he should interrupt or continue to wait it out.

"Oh, um, a- alright then, my name is Acenath, and you would be, um, who, sir, and uh, what k- kind of creature?"

Loki clenched his teeth to make sure the sigh didn't escape his mouth. Stuttering. Blast.

The plan had been to use an illusion to make one of the creatures look like him, teach it some clever lines and lead whoever had captured his kids away. With such memorable voices, however, the man who captured the creatures was sure to know who was talking, and see through the facade.

"Oh! H-how rude, I didn't, um, tell what I was, er, am. Uh, oh dear, I'm a sphinx," Loki thought some unfavorable things about the idiot creature here, "And Quadir here i-is a fire salamander." That would explain the smell of sulfur.

Loki reexamined his resources. An idiot sphinx, a talking fire hazard, and a handful of magic.

Brilliant.

….

Sven felt the life gradually return to his fingertips. The man who had helped him off of the mud-crusted sphinx had set him on a blue fainting couch, putting his sleeping sister on the floor next to him.

If there was one thing Sven learned from his father, it was to watch and wait.

If there was one thing Sven had learned from his Uncle Thor, it was to not wait too long.

Still, right now seemed to be the time to wait as he paused for the real man of the operation to walk through the double doors. The man who had helped him off the woman-creature didn't seem diabolical enough to be in charge. His mother would say that wasn't a good enough reason to say someone was bad. His father would say to trust his instinct and see what happened. The man helping Sven picked up Sarai and took her from the room.

That made anger flash across Sven's face.

"I suppose you might wish to try something vaguely heroic, Sven?" This voice came from behind him. Sven casually turned to see who was talking— that's how his father would handle the situation. Act like he wasn't mad. Act like this wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Sure, he got kidnapped all the time. Was he supposed to act impressed?

"I see you got more of your mother's Midgardian blood than your father's Asgardian roots." The man had walked around to the front of the sofa, swishing his cape for the still sleeping Sarai and her brother.

Sven grinned.

The man looked ridiculous. Evil, but ridiculous.

Sven knew his father would have appreciated the dark clothes and black aura, but laughed at the presentation and melodrama.

He wished his dad would come soon.

….

Quadir's bird cage opened and he scuttled down his savior arm, noting that the fire on his back didn't burn Loki's forearm or shoulder.

Said savior bent to unlock the cuffs on Acenath's oversized paws, broke the lock on the door, and shot up the stairs as the brown-furred creature followed behind him.

'The Plan' was in action. They would be home within the hour.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor. I don't own any black capes, either.

Tartak shifted through the plastic hangers in his master's closet looking for the correct shade of black. The master had said to gather the Black Black cape, as opposed to the usual Blackish or occasional Off-Black ones. Tartak was aware he was considered A Lowly Mind, but really, couldn't the master be a little more specific? Or better yet, send that pretty Hagar girl to figure out his capes. Girls were supposed to be good at that stuff, right? Surly she knows the difference between Off-Black and Black Black.

Tartak sighed as he held up two capes and tried to decide which was blackest. Maybe if he had magic he could figure out which was darker. Or, maybe if he had Master's Uber Cool Power- Enhancing Amulet (Mucpea for short) he could gather whatever small amount of magic he had been allotted in life and figure out this stupid problem. Or, as long as he was really wishing, he could just drop the master, catch a camel ride to the ocean, swim to Italy, buy a villa, marry Hagar and live happily ever after.

He wasn't sure which was more far-fetched: Hagar marrying him, or picking the right cape. Tartak was starting to think he had a better chance swimming to Italy.

…**...**

The stairs were starting to get rather monotonous. Loki was beginning to think that if he ever owned an abandoned castle in which he plotted to steal innocent children, he would at least put some art on the stairwells so when said innocent children's fathers came to rescue them the dads had something pleasant to look at. Honestly, crime had no class these days.

…**...**

_The idiot child is grinning again,_ Kuthah thought as he paced and practiced his cape swishing skills.

"You look awfully silly, sir." Sven happily intoned. "And your roots are showing."

Kuthah whirled to glare at the child, then straightened, smoothed his silk vest and black-dyed hair, and took a deep breath.

"I don't think you fully understand your position here dear: you are The Prisoner." He crossed the room to where Sven still sat on the couch and bent to look him in the eye. "Preeeeee-soooooon-eeeeer. Do you know what that means, little child?"

Sven smiled.

"It means my dad's gunna kill you."

…**...**

Acenath proved herself to be invaluable as she related to Loki the inner workings of the castle. Regardless, Loki was a little more than happy when they parted at the ground floor- Acenath heading to the kitchens and Loki continuing with Quadir up the steps.

"Me thinkssss the secretsss sssteps be easssts of heresss..."

Loki felt a twitch starting to take root in the corner of his eye as he pounded up more stairs. It seemed that as soon as he got rid of one ridiculous speaker, the other decided to pipe up. He would have a hard time explaining the new nervous tick to Darcy.

…**...**

A/N Thank you so much for all the kind reviews- you guys really keep me going! Alas to say, this story is coming to a close. I just recently worked through a bit of my writers block, and am happy to say that there are going to be 16 chapters. My Beta's a bit busy, though, so it may take sometime before they get up :)


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor.

Acenath didn't have any trouble persuading Hagar to help with the plan, as Loki had predicted. Yet when Hagar left the empty kitchens with the platter of grapes, hidden vial, and an empty goblet, Acenath felt distinctly useless. She paced back and forth a few times on the hard stone floor, occasionally pausing to scratch at her matted hair. Maybe she could do something else, though. Maybe, just this once, she could be an instigator instead of a follower.

She bit a sack of powders off of a shelf in the pantry and started to run down the steps.

…**...**

Loki paused at the first window he came to. It was an open window on the stairwell of the third floor- one of the few in the castle.

The outlook was bleak. Hideous bone dry sand wafted endlessly. This is why Loki had settled in a cool green land. He couldn't stand the desert.

As he swiveled to start running up the few remaining flights, Loki felt the weight of the salamander relive itself off of his shoulder. He turned just in time to see Quadir land on the window sill.

"It'ssssss been funss," Quadir spat over his shoulder as he disappeared over the window frame. "But I'vessss gotss betters thingsss to doss."

Loki didn't even bother to look over the edge of the opening. He knew fire salamanders weren't creatures of their word, so the job he had designed to Quadir was more of a perk, really. He had actually expected the salamander to leave with a scream of "I'm freeeessss!" rather than the slightly cool-sounding lines he had actually delivered.

…**..**

"IDIOT! In what world does this cape look Black Black?" Kuthah sighed as he sat down and began to rub his temples. He knew he shouldn't have advertised for help in _Misfits Monthly_. You really had to search for good help. It was rare they just found you.

In the back of Kuthah's mind- the very back part that hadn't rotted itself away- he began to wonder when things became so bad. Was it when he had gotten the amulet? Or was it before that? These days the past all seemed to run together. He could faintly remember a time when he stood tall and proud, blond hair gelled back and leather boots firm beneath his feet. Now he was reduced to petty tokens to enhance his magical strength, and wearing black to seem more evil.

Once he had the halflings-blood, things would get better. The spell was to increase peace of mind and magic abilities. He was so close he could almost taste is. All he needed was to "swallow the blood of an Asgardian halfling" and "chew on the threads of the blackest cloak" and his mind would be at peace.

"Tartak, bleed the child. I will be back once I have gathered the _correct_ cloak."

Kuthah stomped out the doors, swishing his cloak behind him.

…**...**

Loki's heart stopped beating.

It just... stopped.

When he had opened the door in a blast of showy-sparkly magic, he had expected to find Sven waiting and grinning.

Only... his son wasn't grinning. His eyes were wide as he stared into the pot that was collecting his blood, his eyes were wide as he looked as his father, and his eyes were wide as they glanced again at his bleeding arm.

No parent should have to o through something like that, nor should any child. Loki began to lose all sense of thought as the rage built in his body. He was going to kill them all. Acenath in the cellars, Quadir running through the sand, Hagar coming up the steps, the man bleeding his child, and the fellow in the cape standing behind him.

He would have killed them, if the pewter amulet hadn't touched the skin on his neck, causing all the magic building up in his system to backfire. He would have killed them, taken his children and gone home, telling the kids that some people deserved to die. They would be dead, if only he could explain to Darcy why Sven screamed at night and Sarai talked about unmoving bodies piled in a room. He couldn't hesitate now. Lovely Darcy might not approve, but their children deserved justice.

He would have slaughtered them, but in that instant, he lost his chance.

The runes on the amulet where written backward, reversing the effects of any Asgardian magic. Loki groaned a little as the magic overloaded his system and caused him to black out. He was aware that his body would reboot in a few moments, but those precious minutes would allow his enemy to bind him again.

He tried not to worry. Hagar was still coming up the steps.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor.

Hagar didn't know she needed to rush. She stopped in Sarai's room to make sure the little princess was still sleeping, taking time to straighten the rest of Sarai's closet. Hagar had enjoyed dressing the little girl in the latest Elvin fashions. She had also been much to happy to throw out the human clothes. Handmade dresses were much cuter.

As she began to wind her way up the steps again, Hagar tried to recall a song her mother had once taught her. She thought about the lyrics as she concentrated on keeping the vial from slipping down her bosom.

How did the song go?

Something something something,

Bells are ever ringing,

Something Something,

The bells continue tinging.

Oh well. It wasn't that important, anyways.

…**...**

Tartak always hated the smell of blood. Now, as he saw the tears the child was keeping back as he slashed the knife across his upper arm, he began to wonder how wrong his choices in life were. The stench of the iron in the kid's blood hit his nose as he held the small arm over a pot. He shouldn't be here.

Neither of them should.

He didn't question morals when he kidnapped the sphinx. He hadn't thought it a problem as he fed the sarcastic salamander. Tartak didn't even really mind the plan to kidnap some kids. It was just work. Nothing personal.

But the kid bled, just like everyone else. That's when he realized it was wrong. Maybe it was too late, but the boss had just exited the room, and he could run right now. He could head to the kitchens, grab Hagar and make a run for it. Kuthah wouldn't be able to do anything about it, not with his mind becoming more unhinged and his goal so close. He had a chance. A small one, but a chance nonetheless.

Tartak stared at the blood beginning to swirl in the pot and vowed to leave.

Right now.

If only his feet would work. If only he didn't feel so guilty. He helped bring this on a kid. A _child_.

At that moment Sven choked back a sob causing Tartak to glance up at his miserable face. The servant then changed his vow.

He was a coward, and a worthless one at that, but he wouldn't leave the child to fend for himself. He would stay, and think of something.

…**...**

Sven felt the fat tears roll down his face and tried to wipe them away. One arm was tied to the stiff wooden chair, and the other was being held by the man who bled him. He wouldn't lose faith that his father was coming for him, but for the first time in his life, he was scared.

When the man holding his arm glanced up from looking at his blood, Sven thought there was a different look in his eyes. Sven sniffed again as the man grabbed the discarded black cloak and wiped the tears away.

"I'll think of something, kid. I'll think of something."

Sven suddenly felt less lonely.

Sven almost felt like grinning again when his dad burst through the door. Showy magic? That wasn't his style. His dad must have a plan.

But when Loki's face paled, and Sven looked to see the small puddle of blood he had lost, he began to see the anger in his father's eyes. The clenched hands and magic zinging between both of them made Sven draw in a breath to tell his father the first fundamental rule of being a magic user. Never lose your cool.

A shadow passed in the hall and his father crumpled to the ground. Sven could feel the tears coming to his face again when the man beside him mad a shushing noise, and winked.

"It'll be okay, kiddo. Just watch."

…**...**

Kuthah tried an evil laugh as he stalked in the room. The amulet was broken, but he had what he needed now.

And the dad could watch. It gave the whole affair a slightly more evil feel.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Thor. I would give anything for left-handed magic, though. Well, anything but my left hand.

Loki woke up with his right hand tied to a chair and his left hand aching in his lap. These circumstances seemed pretty odd to him. He knew he had used the space travel to many times today, and been knocked out more times than he cared to remember. Maybe it had all been a bad dream, and he was back home with Darcy playing some weird sort of game. The marriage conference they had gone to last year had said reverse roll playing was healthy for the relationship. That would explain being bound to a chair. Sorta.

He breathed through his nose to clear his mind. That was the worst part about being knocked out. The waking up always made him so groggy.

His mind immediately cleared when he saw his son, though.

Sven's eyes brightened when his dad looked at him, and he grinned. Loki smiled back.

"How sweet, really, a father/son reunion." Loki looked up to see an idiot in black making a speech. Loki blinked a few times. If this stupid man were going to make a speech Loki was going to forget the whole thing and just blast him. He had sat through three days of conferences for Darcy's sake, but there wasn't anyone else on earth he was going to listen to without good reason.

"TARTAK!" The man- the only human in the building- jumped a little behind Loki and then nodded to the being in black. "Take the blood to Hagar. She has been instructed as what to do." Loki was still hunched over his hand when Tartak walked out of the room, taking his son's blood with him. Loki frowned a little, wondering if he should wait for Hagar or not. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Sven shaking his head. Loki nodded. He would wait. He had promised Acenath and Hagar a way out of this castle, anyways.

"Well then, I suppose you are wondering why I've brought you here today." The man in black attempted another evil smile.

"Not really." Loki breathed out a little through his nose. This guy used too many pointless words in his sentences. He'd only been talking for a minute and the prattle was already grating on Loki's frayed nerves.

"Never fear!" He pointed a finger at Loki "I will not be deterred by your silly show of nonchalance! I, the great Kuthah, son of Hapeth, son of Thant, son of-"

Loki turned to smile at Sven again, blocking out Kuthah's dramatics. The idiot must have had a lot of time to burn. How far away was Hagar? Really. Had she never heard of speed walking?

"Has he been like this the whole time?" Loki asked.

"Ya." Sven grinned "I'm glad you're here, Dad." Loki blinked, unused to hearing sentiments.

"I'm satisfied that you are safe." Loki nodded to the slit on Sven's arm "Use a little of your magic to heal yourself." Sven blinked at Loki, unknowingly imitating his dad.

"You know about that?"

"Of course I do." Loki smirked "When we get home I'll actually teach you something, alright?"

Kuthah stepped in front of Loki's face, saying "While I am truly very ecstatically happy that the two of you can have such a bonding moment, I fear you are not giving me the proper respect deserving of someone in my office. While my observation of you proves you can only use your right hand for magic, I can only assume-"

"Sir?" Hagar stepped through the door Tartak was holding open for her. "Your potion is ready." She smiled prettily at him.

"Give it to me!"

After Hagar handed Kuthah the cup, several things happened at once.

Kuthah drank the wine blood mixture, and then happily bit on his cloak (Loki wasn't going to ask why the cloth biting was needed).

As Kuthah engaged himself in fabric molestation, the vial Hagar had hidden in her flat chest finally fell down her dress, smashing as it hit the floor. Loki straightened in his seat to stretch out his left hand while Tartak grabbed Hagar away from stepping on the broken glass. Sven grinned and, three flights down, Sarai woke up to an empty room. Acenath had just finished her business in the dungeons and was padding her way up the stairs. Oden knows where Quadir was.

Moments after downing the fluid, Kuthah bent over, clutching at his stomach. His face contorted in pain and his breathing came in short gasps. Water started running down his face as his limbs became unmovable. He couldn't understand where he went wrong.

Loki smirked.

"Sphinxes are a lot like cats." he said, "They'll only obey you if you treat them well. The poison will work its way out of your system in a few weeks."

Loki flexed his hand, call the magic down his arm to his elbow, wrist, and fingertips.

"Ah, and one more thing. Frost giant blood is slowly poisonous to your kind. Even if it's only a halfbreed. But I'm sure you already new that."

Then the god of mischief and fire let the magic explode.

…**...**

Somewhere in America, Darcy felt her nose itch.

She looked up to see a blond head peeping through the side of the cubicle.

"Thor?"

They sneaked outside, and Thor talked to Heimdall, commanding that they be taken to the cottage.

Darcy hoped everything was alright.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor. I do, however, currently have a kitten.

Loki wished for many things in life. He wished he could have been there to see the castle explode, Acenath having done Quadir's job of planting the magic-sensitive flour in the foundations. He wished he could have seen the ensuing fire, and Kuthah crawling out of the flames only to die of blood poisoning. He wished he had more magic, so that he could have brought Hagar and Tartak to the cottage to thank them properly, rather than dropping them off in Morocco. (Though he mostly wished he had more magic to heal the stupid ache in his left arm. That was an injury that he would feel every time it rained.) He wished he had enough energy during the transportation to turn Acenath into a smaller cat, rather than a Sphinx-sized cat.

Loki wished a lot of things, but mostly, right now, he wished he had more time before his idiotic brother had brought his lovely wife back.

After retching on an empty stomach, Loki breathed a few times and took stock of where he was. He was right by the Sphinx prints, the area where this whole bloody mess started, and the sun was starting to set behind the trees by the lake. Loki sat on his bottom and gathered his two kids in his arms. It hadn't even been a whole day.

That's when he saw the bridge open up by the old gardening shed. He only had a few minutes to get everything in order, and that's assuming Darcy stopped to admire Sven's little paint job.

"Alright." He said, speaking softly mostly because his head was too dizzy to talk loudly. "Sven, get cleaned up before your mum sees the blood on your shirt." Sven nodded and trotted off to the house. Kids. One would think such an ordeal would make the creature tired.

"Sarai, help Daddy cover up the foot prints. Like when we built castles in the sand, remember? Yes, just like that." Sarai giggled as she patted the dark earth next to her father. Loki picked up his daughter- was it him, or did she feel heavy?- and walked up the few steps to his back door.

"Acenath, you lay down here." Loki nodded to the floor by the dog door. The large brown cat padded over to her place, curled up in a ball and fell asleep.

Loki sighed and went in the door that led him to the kitchen, trying to wipe the dirt off of Sarai's dress. That maid certainly had an odd fashion sense.

…**.**

"Loki, you really had me so worried, calling Thor to come get me like that." Loki sent a withering glance his brother's way. What part of _keep Darcy occupied_ had he not understood? Thor was beaming, thinking he had done nothing wrong.

"I'm sorry, dearest," Loki concentrated on the smell of his tea to calm his stomach. Sarai was bouncing around the house, and Sven had fallen asleep after hugging his mother. "I just couldn't comprehend another day without you. Thor and Jane can take care of themselves." He would have shot Thor another glare, but opted to rub his eyes instead.

"I understand, it's hard for kids to get along without their mother," Darcy got up to refill her coffee cup- Loki would never understand how The Lovely could drink the substance at all hours- and picked up Sarai as she sat back down at the table.

"Where did this dress come from?"

"Ah, it's just a little something I picked up. Thor, isn't it time you got back to that Jane woman?"

"I have all the time in Midgard, little brother!" Thor beamed, his hands still clasped together on the table. All these years and he still couldn't take a hint. Loki rubbed at the dark bags under his eyes again.

Darcy giggled and smiled at the two brothers. Is that where Sarai had gotten the laughing from? He hadn't ever noticed before.

"Oh! Loki?" The black-haired man looked up at his wife. "Did you get a cat?" Darcy smiled again, as Loki glanced behind him. It seems the once tentative Acenath had decided she had enough of the back porch and silently squeezed through the dog door.

Loki just nodded, and drank some more tea.

"I used to have a cat, back before you met me." Darcy was gushing now, too happy to be home with her family, "You know what I used to call him?"

Loki set his cup down, and willed her not to say the name. Thor leaned in and nodded encouragingly.

"Twinkle Toes! He was the cutest little thing!"

Thor laughed, Darcy smiled, Sven shifted in his sleep, and Sarai giggled.

Loki grinned. It was good to be back home.

In the end, it seemed his family was all he needed. They were enough- rather, they were more than enough, because they seemed to complete him. They were completely enough.

And Loki rather liked the sound of that.


End file.
